Archive By Section - Lifestyles Columnists

For the last three years, you've only had 28 days in February to create lasting family memories. This year, you have a bonus – an extra day. Make all 29 days count this year, with quality time spent with those entrusted to your care, whether that's little ones, a spouse, special friends, or all of the above. Build a bonfire and make s'mores on a cold evening, put together a puzzle on an even colder evening, or curl up in front of the fireplace on a warm evening with a milkshake! Fill February with enough warmth to last ...

All families should have a primary care physician, whether family members have a current specific medical condition or not. In my professional experience as a university professor and as a health system senior executive, I've been asked many times how to find a physician. Whether you are searching for a physician for yourself, your children, or a family member, it is most important to choose a physician whom you can trust.

Everyone in Bulloch County knows a Deal or two and almost everyone knows what an important part the Deal family has played in the founding and development of Statesboro and Bulloch County. Well, their family lines extend all the way back to a little village in Bavaria, Germany. Johann Adam Diehl was born in Einod, Rhineland Pfalz, in Bavaria and married Anna. They had (at least) five children.

The name Deal may be a big deal in Bulloch County. What most people don't know is that to Albert Mitchell Deal, the most important person in his life was his father John Deal. The most impressive thing to young Albert was his father's service in the Confederate Army. John, the child of James and Martha Deal, was anxious to serve his country and his homeland. As such, he signed up to serve in 1861.

On December 6, 1946, the United States Post Office held a most unusual event. In a meeting of old and new methods of delivery, the U.S. Mail was brought into Statesboro from Savannah by none other than Colonel Albert M. Deal, a Bulloch County legend in his own right. Riding upon a horse, he left at 8 a.m., accompanied by a Bulloch Countian escort of Fred T. Lanier, Thomas C. Smith, George Dean, Georgia Marsh, L.A. Waters, W.O. Denmark, W.W. Mann, Lannie Simmons, and Dr. A.L. Clifton.

If you are looking for the most current information on nutrition and physical activity from the Centers for Disease Control, here are a list of their web sites containing statistics, research and education materials on various topics related to these issues. They also link you to other sites from other organizations with related information.

King Solomon, the wisest man who ever lived, wrote, "My son, keep my words and store up my commands within you. Keep my commands and you will live; guard my teachings as the apple of your eye. Bind them on your fingers; write them on the tablet of your heart." (Proverbs 7:1-3) This is similar to the spirit of Psalm 119, the longest chapter in the Bible.

In September of 1526, Spanish forces commanded by Liciendo Lucas Vazquez de Ayllon landed on the Georgia coast near Sapelo Sound. De Ayllón's group sailed from Hispaniola to the South Carolina and Georgia coastline one two ships. His group of settlers even brought along some African slaves. They established the colony San Miguel de Guadalupe. Their slaves soon escaped to live among the Indians, leaving de Ayllón and the other colonists to die in a fever epidemic.

Asthma is a chronic lung condition, which means it lasts a long time – usually three months or more. Once someone has asthma, it won't just disappear. A person with asthma has difficulty breathing, due to narrowing of the air passages, mucous secretions, and inflammation of the airways. This results in reduced air flow that causes wheezing, coughing, and chest tightness. Asthma during childhood has a great impact on the growth and development of children and their families, and is a leading cause of chronic illness in children. In 2004, nearly nine million children nationwide under the age of 18 ...

For years now Daddy has struggled to keep unobstructed the spring that feeds the pond from which he pumps irrigation water. In the course of one night, beavers can build - and have built on several occasions - a formidable dam that nothing will bust loose save several hours of ax-wielding. Every winter he spends an afternoon or two, hunched against the wind, freeing the spring of its obstruction.

Free Will Baptists: This group rejected anything other than the Arminian (named after Jacobus Arminus) doctrine that there is no predestined salvation and that man must work to achieve salvation. In 1727, Paul Palmer began preaching the Free Will doctrine in Chowan, North Carolina, and by 1755 his following had grown to include 20 churches. In 1780, churches formed what they called a "Free Will Baptist" group in New Durham, New Hampshire under the leadership of Benjamin Randall. Randall and Palmer both came South, which led to the formation of the first formal association, the "Cooperative Association of Free Will ...

If we had our way about it, likely none of us would choose the unpleasant paths of life; rather we would choose the easy road, where the ground is smooth and straight, and the paths clearly marked. Consider that the first inclination of parents, when given the choice, is usually ... and understandably ... to help their children avoid hardship whenever possible.

In 1865, King Louis the 14th was very busy persecuting the group of French Protestants known as the Huguenots. On August 8th of that year, he revoked the "Edict of Nantes", in which the religious freedoms of non-Catholic Frenchmen had been guaranteed. Along the Moselle River, in the Alsace-Lorraine region, the Mazels were suspected by authorities to be some of the most militant Huguenots.

It's time again for New Year's resolutions. Many of us are resolving to make a lifestyle change to improve our health, such as exercise regularly, lose some weight, quit smoking, or get a health screening. Remember, change is a process, not an event, and it takes a long-term commitment and requires a supportive environment.